Sony finally set to release first software update for PS2/DVD recorder/hard drive combo

Sony will next month release the first software upgrades for PSX in Japan after the machine was launched with many of the specifications that were originally promised missing.

The capabilities of PSX - which combines a PS2, DVD recorder and hard drive - were initially announced in October. But a sheepish Sony then revealed that in order for PSX to hit its pre-Christmas launch in Japan, some of the features would have to be removed.

February's software upgrade - which will be available to download from the start of the month, with a CD version to follow a couple of weeks later - restores some, but not all, of these missing features. A further patch, available in March, will include more of the lost 'original' features.